Monty the Snake
by childofsummer
Summary: Based on the prompt "I may have brought my pet to school by accident and it may have escaped you have to help me." One-shot.


**I don't actually know who came up with the prompt, so sorry about that. Cheers to whoever did.**

**I hope you all enjoy.**

Clarke is sitting alone in the art room, humming along to music that is rhythmically pulsing through her headphones. A canvas and an array of pencils are spread out in front of her as she steadily adds colours to a mountain landscape. She has two days left before the picture is due and she is determined to have it finished before the bell rings for lunch.

Her concentration is shattered as the door swings open and a tall brunette comes rushing into the room. The girl then swings her gym bag off of her shoulder, and for some reason that has Clarke utterly baffled, drops to her hands and knees and starts crawling around under the tables.

From where Clarke is sitting in the back of the room, she watches the girl with increasing curiosity as she starts shifting boxes of art supplies and other various clutter around the floor like she is looking for something. Clarke gently places the pencil she was working with on the table and removes her headphones. Clarke frowns in confusion now that she can hear the girl gently calling out "Monty." She is pretty certain that the stranger hasn't realised that she is not alone, so Clarke leans back in her chair, folds her arms across her chest and clears her throat loudly.

The girl lets out a startled yelp and bangs her head, quite savagely, into the table she is currently underneath. Clarke jumps up from her seat to make sure the girl is alright, but she is pulled up short by the glare that is levelled in her direction.

"What are you doing in here?"

"An assignment that is almost due, for this class." Clarke gestures towards her abandoned project. "I should be asking you what the hell you're doing in here, because you obviously aren't in here to paint."

The girl, now standing at full height, moves closer to Clarke and studies her intently before letting out a small sigh of annoyance.

"You have to swear not to say anything."

"Is this something I could get in trouble for?"

The girl smirks at Clarke. "Only if we get caught." She offers her hand to shake. "I'm Lexa."

Clarke gulps as the name jolts her memory loose. She knew the girl looked familiar, but she has never seen her this close before. Although it should have been obvious from the minute she entered the classroom, because Lexa is still wearing her Ark Academy Warriors uniform and her hair is pulled back in her signature braids. The girl currently standing in front of Clarke is the captain of the girls' soccer team and has such a fierce reputation that she is known around school as the Commander.

Clarke hesitantly places her hand into Lexa's surprisingly gentle grip. "Clarke."

Lexa genuinely smiles when she realises that the flash of recognition and fear that passed across Clarke's face has been replaced with an expression that she can only interpret as defiant. She appears to have much more character than Lexa had previously given her credit for. Her smirk slides back into place as she starts to casually shift folders and art supplies around again.

"Well Clarke, I seem to have misplaced my python and I would be really appreciative if you would help me find him."

Lexa looks over her shoulder at the blonde and has to bite back a laugh at the confused expression the girl has plastered on her face. Clarke steps closer to Lexa and grabs her shoulder, rougher than she intends to.

"I don't understand. Is this a joke?"

Lexa glares at the hand that has dared make contact with her, before Clarke hastily pulls it away with a mumbled apology. She studies the girl and sighs quietly, only slightly annoyed.

"A python, you know a snake. He's only five feet long and he is currently somewhere in this room."

Clarke pales considerably and rapidly runs her eyes around the room looking for anything out of place.

"Please tell me you're kidding."

"I wish I were. He must have snuck into my gym bag this morning and he got loose when I changed into my training gear. I followed him from the dressing room and the last I saw of him, he was heading in here."

Lexa shifts some large paintings that are leaning against the back wall so that she can see behind them while Clarke stands motionless and gaping at her silently.

"Holy hell, you're serious." Clarke claps her hands together decisively. "Okay. Wait, did I hear you calling out Monty before?"

Lexa snaps her head around to find Clarke smirking at her and when she levels her trademark glare at the other girl it only makes her laugh.

"Shut up Clarke."

"You have a python called Monty, as in, Monty Python? I'm sorry, but this is a teasing opportunity that I'm not giving up."

Lexa ignores the blonde as she finally catches sight of Monty, curled up in a small cupboard filled with various brushes and other tools. She lifts him up victoriously causing Clarke to squeal and retreat back to her desk.

"What? You've never seen a snake before?"

"Well never one that wasn't behind glass. I wasn't really exposed to any animals growing up."

Lexa eyes Clarke curiously as she gently strokes Monty's head.

"Would you like to hold him?"

"No, definitely not. Thanks though."

Lexa just shrugs in response and strides across the room to the gym bag that she had previously abandoned. Clarke watches Lexa cautiously as she gently places the snake back into her bag and zips it closed.

"So, why a snake? I mean, surely there are better pets out there?"

"He actually belongs to my brother, but Gustus always forgets to put him back in his habitat. Hence this impromptu trip to school."

Clarke laughs at the exasperated expression that is etched across Lexa's face. She grabs a piece of scrap paper and quickly writes on it while Lexa is distracted adjusting her bag. Clarke takes a deep breath to settle her sudden nerves and shoves the paper into Lexa's hand. The door swings open before either girl can acknowledge the note or how close they find themselves to each other.

The ferocious glare that the art teacher levels at them has Lexa muttering a quick goodbye before she makes her escape. Clarke heaves a disappointed sigh and trudges back to her desk. She picks up her pencil and twirls it around while she attempts to refocus on her painting, while studiously avoiding the angry gaze of the woman seated at the front of the room.

Lexa slows from a jog to a walk as she rounds the corner of the music building, now completely out of sight of the art rooms and the ruthless art teacher. She stops once she realises that she is alone and releases the death grip she has on the piece of paper that Clarke gave her. She knows that she is now late for training but curiosity wins out, so she unfolds the paper to read the message scrawled inside.

_Would you like to get a coffee sometime?_

_Maybe next time don't show up with a live snake though._

Lexa lets herself laugh out loud as she enters the digits on the bottom of the page into her phone. The smile she walks to training with is noticed immediately by the rest of her team and the rarity of it strikes fear into their hearts.

Clarke's phone buzzes loudly on the desk and she glances up to see if it disturbed the woman grading papers at her desk. Thankfully she is immersed in her work, so Clarke unlocks the screen to read her message. It is from an unknown number, but she knows exactly who sent it.

_Coffee sounds good. Maybe tomorrow?_

Clarke grins at her phone and rapidly sends back her affirmative answer, just as a throat clearing startles her back to her surroundings.

"Do I have to confiscate that Miss Griffin?"

"No ma'am."

"Well you are in here to work. So see that you do."

"Yes ma'am."

Clarke slides her phone into her bag and resumes drawing lines onto the canvas. She valiantly tries not to focus on the thought of Lexa smiling and throws herself back into her art before she abandons the idea of finishing her project altogether.

She can't help the smile that graces her face every time her thoughts shift back to the fiery soccer player though. Tomorrow can't come fast enough.


End file.
